Eric Jones
Bridging the gap from standards to beyond, Eric Jones has worked with many prominent artists including Grammy Award winning Esperanza Spalding, Stewart Copland of the Police and Keith Miller of the Metropolitan Opera. In 2011 Eric premiered his latest work, “Songs of Creation,” which combines spiritual, jazz and African influences with the poem of James Weldon Johnson’s “The Creation.” Eric is the pianist with the Savannah Jazz Orchestra and performs with them annually at the Savannah Jazz Festival. Eric will be joined by Marc Chesanow on bass and Robert Saunders on drums.
ABOUT
Eric Jones was born in Moultrie, Georgia, and started to play piano by ear at the age of five.At 11, Eric began studying trumpet and went on to pursue his education at Armstrong Atlantic State University, studying under Dr. Kevin Hampton, graduating with a B.A. in Piano. In addition to teaching private lessons, composing and arranging, he completed his Masters in Composition from Georgia Southern University, where he studied under Dr. Martin Gendelman. Eric has worked with a diverse range of artists that includes Grammy Award-winning bassist and vocalist Esperanza Spalding, Stewart Copland of the Police and Keith Miller of the Metropolitan Opera, Rachel Waiters of Memphis Opera, Wyclef Gordon to name few. In 2011 he was commissioned by the Savannah Children’s Choir to composed a piece based on the work of Harlem Renaissance poet James Weldon Johnson’ “TheCreation” for solo vocalists, orchestra and choir. “Songs of Creation” premiered in the spring of 2012. In 2019, Eric released his debut album “Azubuike” which is translated in Igbo “the past is our strength” featuring the trio of Marc Chesanow on bass and Robert Saunders on drums. He has worked with Savannah Music Festival’s Musical Explorers, Savannah Jazz Festival. He became the Interim Music Director of SMF Jazz Academy for 2019-20 school year. He has been apart of the Savannah Jazz Orchestra for over five years. In 2020, Eric was inducted into the Savannah Jazz Hall of Fame. He joined the company of James Moody, Ben Tucker just to name a few. Currently Eric is teaching at Savannah State while maintaining an active performance schedule with various ensembles in the southeast region.